BROOKVILLE, N.Y. — The Long Island University football team will travel to Big Sky Country in the 2029 season, as the Sharks will take on Montana State University, Director of Athletics Elliott Charles announced on Tuesday. 

LIU will travel to the defending FCS national champion Bobcats on Sept. 8, 2029. The game will be the first all-time meeting between the two programs. 

The game will mark LIU's first matchup against a Big Sky Conference opponent. Montana State's previous matchup against an NEC team came in the 2025 season, when the Bobcats hosted Mercyhurst University. 

LIU's 2026 season will kick off on Thursday, Aug. 27, at the University of North Dakota, marking the first-ever meeting between the Sharks and the Fighting Hawks. The non-conference schedule also includes road trips to the University of Kansas (Fri., Sept. 4) and Florida International University (Sept. 26), the two Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) opponents on the schedule. LIU will also play the University of Albany (Sept. 12) and Villanova University (Sept. 19) at home in non-conference competition. 
 
In 2026, Ron Cooper enters his fifth season as head coach at LIU. This past season, the Sharks finished 6-6 overall, compiling the most overall wins in a single season of the program's Division I tenure. The season was highlighted by a 28-23 win at Eastern Michigan University, the program's first-ever victory over an FBS team. LIU finished the season on a three-game winning streak, with wins in five of its final six games.